Charges expire against Mexican rebel leader

MEXICO CITY (AP) — A federal court has ruled that criminal charges filed against a leader of the Zapatista rebel uprising of 1994 are no longer valid.

The rebel known as "Subcomandante Marcos" was charged 21 years ago with rebellion, terrorism and other crimes.

Mexican law says charges expire when half of the potential prison term for the most serious crime has passed. For Marcos that would have been a 40-year sentence for terrorism, so the charges have expired, the court said in a decision announced Tuesday.

FILE - This Aug. 21, 2005 file photo shows Mexican Zapatista rebel leader Subcommandante Marcos in Dolores Hidalgo, in Mexico's state of Chiapas. Charges in Mexico against a leader of the Zapatista rebel uprising of 1994 have expired. Things turned in Marcos¿ favor in February 2016, 21 years after the arrest order. The law says charges expire when half of the potential prison term for the most serious crime has passed. (AP Photo/File)

Mexico's government has identified Marcos as Rafael Sebastian Guillen Vicente, but he has never confirmed it. In 2014, Marcos announced he was retiring that nom de guerre and would instead be called "Galeano" in honor of a killed rebel.